


Haryc - (adj) tired

by Different_frequency



Series: What We Seek [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Baby Yoda has a cold, Comfort, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fever, Fluff, Illness, ManDadlorian, Mando'a, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, parenting, tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:07:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23795881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Different_frequency/pseuds/Different_frequency
Summary: The kid has a cold and Din is completely exhausted. Tali steps in to help.
Series: What We Seek [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714399
Comments: 4
Kudos: 71





	Haryc - (adj) tired

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of domestic fluff that takes place between chapters 4 and 5 of The Last Place You'd Look, between when the crew is on Dandoran and when they meet Rex. xoxo.

Din was sure he’d been more tired, but he couldn’t exactly remember when. To be honest, he couldn’t remember very much at the moment. His thoughts kept floating away before he could really catch hold of them, and his eyes itched furiously under his helmet. He’d suppressed at least four yawns while plotting out the navigation coordinates for their next jump, but had only nodded off twice over the star charts, which all things considered was a fairly good track record. 

The kid stirred in his pod, and Din turned to him. The _ad’ika_ had been running a fever the past day and had developed some kind of sinus issue. Din had torn the med-pack apart looking for anything to help, but they had nothing. Having determined that the nearest planet with a halfway decent market for medical supplies was six hours away, he’d plugged in the coordinates and bundled the kid up warm. Tali had occupied the fussy baby earlier while Din had plotted their course, and was catching a nap down in her tiny bunk. 

The kid whined and Din reached out to pick him up, wrapped in one of his old cloaks for warmth, and brought him to his chest. The kid’s nose was running again and Din wiped it carefully with one of the corners of the old cloak. 

“Sorry, _ad’ika_. We’ll get you some medicine as soon as we can. On our way there right now.” The kid tucked his head into the cowl at Din’s neck, but he couldn’t seem to rest no matter how Din held him. Every time he was sure the little one was about to drop off into sleep, leaving Din to do the same, he shifted or whimpered or sniffled loudly. Din couldn’t possibly be annoyed, but he was so bone-tired that he could hear buzzing in his ears. 

He was also so bone-tired that he didn’t hear Tali coming up into the cockpit. 

“Are you good?” She asked, her voice hushed. 

“Yeah.” He replied, turning the chair towards her. The sympathetic smile Tali gave Din as she stepped away from the hatch told him that he sounded exactly as tired as he felt. 

“How’s he doing?” She sat on the edge of the co-pilot’s chair and leaned forward to smooth a hand gently over the kid’s back. 

“He won’t settle.” As if he’d heard them talking about him, the _ad’ika_ turned his head towards her and sniffled pitifully. 

“Poor little man.” Tali murmured, and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his nose again. Din made a mental note to repurpose something into a handkerchief for future occasions, but it was gone almost as soon as he thought about it. Tali looked back up at him. “Are we locked in for Gratell?” 

Din turned slightly to look at the Navcomp readout. “Yeah. Four hours, sixteen minutes.” The fact that they had to pass four planets with well-rated med centers to reach an underworld market with med supplies was frustrating in the extreme, but they couldn’t risk any attention after the hunter had found them on Nar Shaddaa. 

She studied him intently as if she could see through the helmet and to the exhausted face beneath, and smoothed her hand across his knee. He was still adjusting to just how easily she expressed physical affection. In the last several weeks she had slowly begun touching him more and while it was still new, he found he didn’t mind it. More than a little of him had even come to enjoy the weight of her hand on his shoulder as she stood next to him in the cockpit, or the bump of her hip against his as she teased him about something down in the cargo bay. Truth be told, he almost liked when she would draw closer to him when they walked through markets or towns. He was sure it was just an effort to ensure the kid was well-protected, but sometimes he let himself imagine it was because she felt safe with him. Maybe even wanted to be closer to him. 

“How about if I take him for an hour or two and you go get some rest?” Tali said, pulling him back to the present. “Coordinates are locked in, I can wake you if there’s a problem. We’re out in the middle of nowhere anyway.” 

Part of his mind started enumerating the reasons why he should stay awake, and what could happen in the blink of an eye out here, but somehow it just fuzzed into the background after a moment. 

“ _Murishani_?” Tali asked, squeezing his leg lightly. He blinked slowly behind his visor. “Come on, get some rest. You’re no good to us dead on your feet.” She reached out and gently took the kid from his arms, tucking him up against one shoulder and getting to her feet. 

“ _Gar shuk meh kyrayc_.” Din mumbled as she turned. 

“What?” She said, turning back and putting a hand on his shoulder. His hand automatically reached up to cover hers. 

“ _Gar shuk meh kyrayc_ ,” he repeated, “‘You’re of no use to us dead’. It’s a phrase we have.” 

Tali hummed. “In Mando’a?” 

Din nodded tiredly. 

“Well, take your own advice then. We’ll be down in the bay if you need anything.” She pulled her hand gently out from under his and turned to climb back down the ladder. 

Din thought for a moment about going into his room, taking off his helmet so he could at least rub his eyes and breathe, but he didn’t feel comfortable leaving the pilot’s seat empty in case anything came up, and the idea of standing up and walking even a few steps was exhausting. He slouched instead, putting his boots up on the console and folding his hands over his belt. This would be just fine. Issik knows, it had been just fine hundreds, probably thousands of times before this anyway. 

He could hear Tali’s footsteps down in the cargo bay, walking slow circles with the kid. It was the only thing that he’d found consistently worked on nights when the _ad’ika_ just wouldn’t sleep. She spoke quietly to him, but the sensors in Din’s audial could pick up most of it over the quiet hum of the hyperdrive. 

“...must be miserable. I always hated being sick when I was little.” 

There was the sound of a muffled, wet sneeze followed by a tearful whine. 

“I know, sweetling, I know. This isn’t fun, but you’ll be okay. You know your dad always takes care of you.” 

With one last look at the Navcomp, Din let his eyes slip closed. From below, he heard Tali begin to sing. He’d heard her sing to the kid before, and she hummed the same song sometimes when she was deep into something and not thinking. Din hummed the familiar tune quietly to himself, the muscles in his shoulders relaxing and his breaths lengthening as he drifted off into sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a:  
>  _Ad'ika_ \- kid, child  
>  _Gar shuk meh kyrayc_ \- youre no use dead (rarely literal)
> 
> Huttese:  
>  _Murishani_ \- bounty hunter


End file.
